Monster
by sidorak95
Summary: A series of one-shots involving Cato and various other characters. Multiple pairings, AU, and lots of other stuff. Warnings inside.
1. Lost

**A/N: This is basically going to be a series of one-shots about Cato and various pairings, including Clato, Catoniss, and maybe a few others including Glato. There is going to be a lot of death and stuff in here so if you don't like it, don't read it. No explicit sexual content, though some basic romance stuff like kissing, etc. Most chapters will be in first person Cato or another character present tense so if that bothers you or something, you might as well leave now.**

**Last but not least, thanks for reading! 3**

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**Cato**

"So, what do you think?" I ask, as I peer through the trees into the Cornucopia, where I can spot a table with four backpacks sitting on it. There are two large ones labeled 2 and 11, a medium sized one labeled 5, and a tiny one labeled 12.

"I think the large ones must be weapons or something," Clove replies, scanning the trees around the clearing. I can tell that there are others sitting there, waiting for someone else to make a move.

"The small one for 12 is probably medicine or something," I remark, wondering what could possibly be in ours. We have food. We have weapons. Clove and I are remarkably well off.

Suddenly, a movement on the left side of the clearing draws my attention. The girl from District 5 zips into the open, picks up the backpack labeled 5, and disappears into the forest with surprising speed.

"Damn!" I curse, reaching for my spear. She moved too fast to throw anything at her, and I can tell Clove came to the same conclusion.

"Go get her!" Clove hisses at me through clenched teeth, grabbing a few throwing knives from her jacket.

"What? What about you?" I hiss back, more concerned about her than letting the girl get away.

"I'll be fine," she shoot back, "now go!"

I throw a wary glare her direction, but then start running towards the woods where she disappeared.

**Clove**

I watch with a lump in my throat as Cato disappears into the forest in chase of the girl. I can't stop worrying about him, and it's making me vulnerable. I position myself to aim for anyone who appears next. This would be the perfect opportunity, I think, while the rest of us are distracted.

Sure enough, I've barely watched for a few seconds before I see that stupid girl from 12 darting towards the table. I throw a knife at her, but she deflects it with the bow in her hands. Damn! She turns, and shoots an arrow at my heart.

I turn desperately, and the arrow catches me in my upper left arm. I grimace in pain for a moment, but try not to let myself get distracted as I break the shaft and pull it out. Pain does not control me. I study the wound for a second: not bad, I won't die from it anytime soon.

I look up just in time to see her grab the small backpack. That little _bitch_! With a cry of rage, I throw my second knife towards her heart. Unfortunately, the arrow wound messes with my aim and accuracy, and it catches her in the forehead instead. She staggers backwards, shooting an arrow that's miles away.

I allow myself a small smile as I tackle her to the ground, ready for the kill.

**Cato**

I curse as I lurch further into the forest, chasing further into the forest after the redhead. This better be worth it, I think grimly. But I can't stop worrying about Clove. She's too exposed.

**Clove**

"I promised Cato if he let me have you, I'd give the audience a good show," I sneer.

She struggles violently, but it's no use.

"Forget it, District Twelve," I laugh, "We're going to kill you. Just like we did your pathetic little ally…what was her name? The one who hopped around in the trees? Rue? Well, first Rue, then you, and then I think we'll just let nature take care of Lover Boy. How does that sound?"

I smile gleefully at her pain at the mention of Rue's name. She stole my glory. She got all the attention. But let's see who got it now after I killed her.

"Now, where to start?" I ask, enjoying the look of terror on her face.

"I think…I think we'll start with your mouth," I purr. I trace her lips with the edge of my knife.

"Yes, I don't think you'll have much use for your lips anymore. Want to blow Lover Boy one last kiss?" I ask.

I flush in anger as she spits a mouthful of blood at me. "All right then. Let's get started."

**Cato**

I almost have the redhead. She's almost in throwing distance, when I hear Clove.

"Cato! Cato" she screeches.

My heart stops pounding. Oh my god. She's in trouble. I immediately turn around and sprint as fast as I can back to the Cornucopia.

"Clove!" I yell, desperately, praying that nothing happened to her.

It feels like forever as I run through the forest, but I finally emerge to see what looks like Clove's lifeless body on the ground.

"Clove!" I yell one more time, my voice laced with pain. No! Don't let it be! She can't be dead! We were going to win…

I barely notice the boy from 11 and the girl from 12 disappear into the woods as I kneel down next to Clove. Her head is badly dented in by a rock, and I can tell that she doesn't have long to live.

"Clove!" I plead, "Stay with me…just a little longer."

My voice cracks in the end as I watch the pain in her velvet eyes.

"Cato…" she manages to whisper.

"Shh…Clove, it's going to be all right," I whisper, not bothering to conceal the tears forming on my face now.

"I…I wanted to win this…n…not for me…but for us…," she whispers once more.

"No! Just stay with me!" I beg one more time, hoping that by some miracle that she'll be alive. But it's no such luck.

"Cato…I love you," she croaks, and I can see she's almost gone now.

I clasp her hand and stare at her face, tears blurring my vision.

"I love you too, Clove," I reply, clutching her hand as if I were to fall. I can't lose her now. I can't. She's the only person that mattered. She's the only thing that ever mattered. She was the only thing worth living for.

I can do nothing but watch as she takes her last breath, and dies.

At first, I can do nothing but cry and bury my face into her dead body. But I can feel something else coming up. Something deep inside me that I thought I learned how to hide. This deep, endless core of anger.

I was going to make both of them pay for this. I was going to kill both of them. I was going to make them suffer.

I take one last glance at Clove's body before I leave, but strongly regret it. There's nothing left now, but a shell of the person that was my life. It was empty now.

"This is for you, Clove!"

I shout as I turn to face the cameras in the trees that I know are there.

"I know I'll be joining you soon, but just a little longer. For me."


	2. Broken

I can't help but glance around warily for any signs of Cato. He should've been here ten minutes ago. He was never late. Did something happen? Did he get in trouble? It is one in the morning, after all, and no sane person would be up and about.

Sane person. I snort. Cato and I weren't even close to sane. Maybe that's why we got along so well. Because we were both so messed up.

I might as well go look for him, I decide. He would probably be in the training center. He was there more than he was home. Because of his parents.

The word parents makes a lump form in my throat. There was another reason we got along so well. We both despised our parents so much.

I can't help but shiver as I walk. It's cold tonight, and it seems to radiate some sense of foreboding. Like an omen of sorts.

I shake my head at myself for being so stupid. Omen? _Stop being such a superstitious fool, Clove, _I tell myself. But I can't help but hesitate before I open the doors to the center.

The lights were on like any other night. But I had this feeling…

_Ugh, get a grip on reality, Clove,_ I tell myself, and open the door. The hallways are strangely silent, so unlike the day, where there was always the sound of clashing metal.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw as I turned to corner.

The first thing I noticed was the crimson red splatters on the normally pristine white walls. Then I saw the body on the floor. Cato was sitting on one of the benches on the wall, staring off in the distance.

"Oh my god," I mutter. "Cato?" I ask hesitantly.

He looks my way and gives me a strange look, but doesn't say anything.

I swallow determinately and walk over. I can't help but give a gasp of recognition as I see the face of the corpse on the floor. The familiar icy blue eyes. The familiar blonde hair. The familiar tall, muscular stature. Cato's dad.

"It's…it's your fath-" I begin.

"Don't," he suddenly snarls. "Just don't."

I take a step back hesitantly, but begin to inch forward slowly.

"Are you OK?" I ask him warily.

He turns to me and gives me his perfect smile. But there's something missing. It doesn't reach his eyes. It's cold. The whole image is also ruined by the blood splattered on his face.

"What do you think, Clove?"

"What happened?" I ask softly, sitting down next to him.

He gives me his bleak smile again. "Trust me, you don't want to hear this."

"The hell I don't!" I snap. "Tell me. Now."

_Cato had been wrapping things up in the training center when he heard him. The noise of the door creaking told him that there was someone there. Considering it was 12 in the morning, there were only a handful of people that it could have been._

_When Cato finally turns around, pain flashes across his face. Then pain. Then anger._

"_What do you want?" he snarls._

"_Answers," the man at the door replies._

"_What kind of answers?" he replies, quivering with rage now._

"_Are you in love with the girl tribute?"_

_He closes his eyes for just a second. "Why does it matter?"_

"_Just answer the question."_

"_Yes." His voice is strangely tinged with bitterness._

"_Break it off."_

"_You can't tell me what to do."_

"_Break it off!" the man snarls, pushing Cato against the wall. "Or I'll kill you." He pulls out a dagger form his coat pocket._

"_You will?" he sneers, not bothering to hide the look of anger on his face. "You would kill your own son?"_

"_I would. Considering how you're going to disgrace me in the arena."_

"_What are you talking about?"_

"_There can't be two winners, Cato. I know you too well. You would let her win."_

"_You don't know me at all," Cato snarls. "And here's a tip of advice: never leave your opponent with a weapon."_

_And suddenly, the man is on the floor, Cato crouching over him, sword in hand._

"_I'm not the little boy you could abuse anymore, _Dad._"_

_He spits the last word like a curse._

"_Oh yes, you enjoyed that, didn't you?" he continues. "You told me it would teach me what pain was. It did. Just not the way you wanted it to. And now I'm going to teach you pain."_

_He pulls down a small dagger from the wall._

"_Daggers and knives are usually Clove's specialty, but I've been told they cause more pain."_

_He traces the man's face teasingly with the tip of the dagger, drawing blood._

"_You seem to forget," the man sneers, "that as a victor, I know a few tricks of my own."_

_And then they're rolling together, a ball of hate and malice and hurt and pain and blood._

_When they finally emerge, the man is on the floor dying._

"_I'm sorry Dad," Cato whispers, "but it had to be this way. I could never please you. You saw me as a tool. As a pawn. But I'm not your pawn."_

I can't hide the look of horror on my face after Cato finishes his story. I look up into his eyes, but they're empty. They're dull blue voids where someone so strong used to live.

Then I notice the blood for the first time. Splattered all over his jacket. I assumed it was his father's, but I can see some of it bleeding out.

"You're hurt," I gasp.

He doesn't reply, just stares off into the distance again.

Only when I try to take of his jacket does he look down.

"You need medical attention," I say briskly, not meeting his eyes.

"Are you asking me to strip for you?" he asks wryly, just a ghost of his old self.

"You're hurt," I point out, feeling my cheeks burn up.

When he pulls his shirt off over his head, I gasp. There are several vicious lines of red all over his chest and back, and several deep gashes.

"That bad, huh?" he asks, not looking down at them.

"No, no, it's just a few scratches," I say briskly.

He chuckles. "You are such a bad liar, Clove."

"I…I don't know if I can fix this," I admit. "We might have to take you to someone-"

"No!" he interrupts suddenly. "Then we'll have to explain this."

I take a deep breath. "Fine."

I quickly go grab the emergency first aid kit that they keep in every room. I'll need some water, bandages, stitches, and painkillers.

"I need to wash away some of this blood," I say, reaching for his water bottle, which is in his bag a few feet away. "This is going to hurt."

"You act like I don't know that, Clove," he says, chuckling slightly.

To his credit, he doesn't make a sound as I pour the water over his wounds, but I can see his fists clench up.

His wounds look a lot better without all the blood.

"Here, take a few of these," I say, handing him a bottle of painkillers. He nods obligingly and swallows a few.

I'm only too aware of my hands quavering as I try to thread the stitches into the needle.

"Are you sure you know how to do this?" he asks with a smile on his face.

"Yes!" I snap. "Ok, maybe not. We only learned how to do this. We never actually tried it out!" I hiss.

"Well, I guess now is as good of a time as any," he comments softly.

I grimace, but start stitching together some wounds, and bandage others.

Finally, I'm done and I step back to admire my handiwork. The stitches look wobbly and uneven, like a chicken sewed them.

"Have you ever considered being a doctor?" Cato asks mockingly. "You'd be great at it."

"Shut up," I retort, and smack him.

We sit in silence for a minute. I finally break it.

"What are we going to do about the…the body?" I ask hesitantly.

"Leave it," he says, looking away in disgust. "No one will know it was us."

"Alright," I reply. Then I frown. "We need to find you some clothes."

He laughs, and I stare at him incredulously. "And here I was, under the impression you liked seeing me like this."

I can't help but blush hotly, feeling the blood rush to my cheeks.

"Shut _up_, Cato!" I hiss.

He rolls his eyes. "I'll just pick up some tomorrow. I don't have any intention of dropping by today."

"Where are you going to sleep?" I ask, biting my lip.

He only shrugs.

"W…would you like to come over to my house? My parents aren't home," I offer.

He smiles. "I'll take you up on that."

By the time we reached my house, the clock already read 3:19, but I hardly noticed it. I was too content falling asleep, my head resting on his chest.


End file.
